Scheme for monitoring battery of machine type communication device

ABSTRACT

Provided is a machine type communication system including a machine type communication device operating with a battery. The machine type communication system may monitor a residual power of the battery supplying power to the machine type communication device, and may output the monitored residual power to a device of a manager that manages the machine type communication device. Also, a point in time when the residual power of the battery is to be monitored may be determined based on the residual power.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a Continuation Application of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/100,775, filed on May 4, 2011, which claims thebenefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2010-0042078, filed on May4, 2010 and 10-2011-0035715, filed on Apr. 18, 2011, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of monitoring a batterylifespan of a machine type communication device, and more particularly,to technology of preventing a communication disconnection occurring dueto battery consumption by checking a battery lifespan of a device in anetwork.

2. Description of the Conventional Art

Currently, machine type communication technologies, for example, MachineType Communication (MTC) or Machine to Machine (M2M) that may beemployed for smart metering of remotely controlling a gas meter readeror a water gauge reader, for remotely controlling an automatic vendingmachine, and the like, are becoming important issues.

A machine type communication service is a service for exchanginginformation between machine devices or between a machine device and auser. Machine type communication may be applied to a field in whichperiodical communication is required, however, an amount of data to betransmitted is small. For example, a safety diagnostic apparatus may beinstalled in each corresponding portion of a bridge to inspect thesafety of the bridge and the like. Each safety diagnostic apparatus maytransmit a safety diagnosis result to an application server usingmachine type communication devices. The machine type communication maybe performed using a specially developed device and server, for example,a communication device of which a data rate is not relatively high andthe like.

In the case of a machine type communication device installed in anisolated area, for example, a bridge, the riverside, and the like, formeasuring the quantity of water or monitoring the quality of water, anaccess of a human being may not be required except for a case where aburglary prevention or a maintenance and repair is required.Accordingly, until that no response is from a machine type communicationdevice is monitored, even though a battery of the machine typecommunication device is out, the machine type communication device maybe unattended whereby connection may be cut off.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An aspect of the present invention provides a method that may measure aresidual power of a battery of a machine type communication device andthereby prevent unpredicted communication disconnection.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method that maydetermine a point in time when a residual power of the battery of amachine type communication device is to be measured.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anoperation method of a machine type communication device operating usinga power stored in a battery, the method including: receiving, from anetwork apparatus, a residual power monitoring request with respect tothe battery; monitoring a residual power of the battery in response tothe residual power monitoring request; transmitting the monitoredresidual power of the battery to the network apparatus in response tothe residual power monitoring request; and receiving again a residualpower monitoring request from the network apparatus based on themonitored residual power.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan operation method of a network apparatus operating in a networkincluding at least one machine type communication device, the methodincluding: transmitting, to a machine type communication device, aresidual power monitoring request with respect to a battery of themachine type communication device at a point in time for monitoring aresidual power with respect to the machine type communication device;receiving the residual power of the battery from the machine typecommunication device in response to the residual power monitoringrequest; and retransmitting, to the machine type communication device, aresidual power monitoring request with respect to the battery based onthe residual power of the battery.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an operation method of a network apparatus operating in anetwork including at least one machine type communication device, themethod including: predicting an operable time duration in which amachine type communication device operating with a battery is operableusing a residual power of the battery, with respect to the machine typecommunication device; setting a predetermined point in time within theoperable time duration to a monitoring time; transmitting, to themachine type communication device at the set monitoring time, a residualpower monitoring request with respect to the battery; and receiving,from the machine type communication device in response to the residualbattery monitoring request, the residual power of the battery monitoredat the monitoring time.

According to embodiments of the present invention, there may be provideda method that may measure a residual power of the battery of a machinetype communication device and thereby prevent unpredicted communicationdisconnection.

According to embodiments of the present invention, there may be provideda method that may determine a point in time when a residual power of thebattery of a machine type communication device is to be measured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a machine type communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a machine typecommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a machine typecommunication device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a networkapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

Embodiments, however, may be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as being limited to example embodiments set forthherein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses oflayers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

The terminology used here is for describing particular exampleembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used here, thesingular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include plural formsas well unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises, “comprising”, “includes”,and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presenceof stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. Itwill be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonlyused dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andshould not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

The term “device” used in the present specification may be referred toas a mobile terminal or a mobile apparatus, a mobile station (MS), auser equipment (UE), a user terminal (UT), a wireless terminal, anaccess terminal (AT), a terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriberstation (SS), a wireless device, a wireless communication device, awireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a mobile node, a mobile, or otherterminals. Various embodiments of the device may include a cellularphone, a smart phone having a wireless communication function, apersonal digital assistant (PDA) having a wireless communicationfunction, a wireless modem, a portable computer having a wirelesscommunication function, a photographing apparatus such as a digitalcamera having a wireless communication function, a gaming apparatushaving a wireless communication function, a music storing and playingelectronic product having a wireless communication function, an Internetelectronic product enabling an wireless Internet access and browsing, aportable unit integrating combinations of corresponding functions, or asmall sensor of a predetermined purpose and apparatuses, however is notintended to be limiting.

The term “network apparatus” used in the present specification maygenerally denote a fixed network point for communication with aterminal. The network apparatus may also be referred to as a basestation, a node base (Node-B), an evolved Node-B (eNode-B), a basetransceiver system (BTS), an access point, and the like.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. Exemplary embodiments are described below to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a machine type communication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a machine type communication device 110 may referto a single or a plurality of terminals installed in an isolated areafor diagnosing the safety of a bridge, monitoring the quality of water,and the like. Each of machine type communication devices 110, 120, and130 may refer to an apparatus that may implement a predetermined dutyand communicate the implementation result with a machine typecommunication server 150 and other machine type communication devicesvia a communication network 140. In addition, each of the machine typecommunication devices 110, 120, and 130 may refer to a data collectionapparatus and an apparatus positioned in an end for a machine typecommunication network, with a sensor and a communication function andpositioned.

In general, the machine type communication devices 110, 120, and 130 maybe installed at home, such as a water gauge reader, an electric meterreader, or in a place where the infrastructure is well developed. Also,in many cases, the machine type communication devices 110, 120, and 130may be installed in a dangerous area, for example, a field, a bridge,and the like, for measuring the quality of water, measuring anenvironmental pollution, and the like, or in the outskirts where peoplemay not readily access. In this case, except for a burglary detection ora maintenance and repair, an access of a human being may not berequired.

The machine type communication devices 110, 120, and 130 may operateusing power stored in a battery. When the power stored in the battery isall consumed, the machine type communication devices 110, 120, and 130may not further operate. Until that no response is from the machine typecommunication devices 110, 120, and 130 is monitored, even though alifespan of the battery is out, the machine type communication devices110, 120, and 130 may be unattended and thus, it may be difficult tocollect proper information. Accordingly, a manager of the machine typecommunication devices 110, 120, and 130 may need to replace the batterywith a new battery before the battery is all discharged.

According to an aspect, it is possible to predict a battery lifespan ofeach of the machine type communication devices 110, 120, and 130, and toreplace the battery of each of the machine type communication devices110, 120, and 130 before the battery lifespan is out. However, thebattery lifespan may be variable due to environmental elements.

According to an aspect, each of the machine type communication devices110, 120, and 130 may measure a residual power of the battery andtransmit the measured residual power to a manager device 160 via thecommunication network 140.

A manager managing the machine type communication devices 110, 120, and130 may receive a report about the residual power of the battery of eachof the machine type communication devices 110, 120, and 130, and mayreplace the battery of each of the machine type communication devices110 based on the reported residual power of the battery.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a machine typecommunication system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

In operation 250, the machine type communication system including amachine type communication device 210, a network apparatus 220, amachine type communication server 230, and a manager device 240 may beactivated. When the machine type communication system is activated, themachine type communication device 210 may implement a predetermined dutyand may transmit the implementation result to the machine typecommunication server 230 via the network apparatus 220. When the machinetype communication device 210 implements the predetermined duty, powerstored in a battery of the machine type communication device 210 may beconsumed and residual power of the battery may decrease. In operation260, the network apparatus 260 may generate a t_Power event. The t_Powerevent may correspond to an event notifying a point in time that ispredetermined to monitor the residual power of the battery of themachine type communication device 210. According to an aspect, thenetwork apparatus 220 may determine a monitoring time based on aprobable minimum threshold of the battery of the machine typecommunication device 210 and a corresponding lifespan of the battery.The monitoring time may be set again based on the residual power of thebattery.

In operation 271, the network apparatus 220 may transmit, to the machinetype communication device 210, a residual power monitoring requestPower_Monitoring_REQ with respect to the battery of the machine typecommunication device 210.

The machine type communication device 210 may monitor the residual powerof the battery, and may transmit the monitored residual power of thebattery to the network apparatus 220 in operation 272. According to anaspect, the machine type communication device 210 may include themonitored residual power of the battery in a monitoring responsePower_Monitoring_RES and thereby transmit the same.

In operation 280, the network apparatus 220 may compare the receivedresidual power of the battery with a predetermined threshold. Accordingto an aspect, the threshold to be compared with the residual power maycorrespond to a minimum value of battery power with which the machinetype communication device 210 may stably operate. When the residualpower is greater than or equal to the threshold, it may indicate thatthe residual power of the battery is sufficient and thus, there is noneed to monitor the residual power of the battery for a relatively longperiod of time. Conversely, when the residual power is less than thethreshold, it may indicate that there is a need to prepare for aprobability that the battery may be all consumed.

When the residual power of the battery is less than the threshold, thenetwork apparatus may transmit the monitoring result Monitoring_event,for example, Battery_Low, to the manager device 240 in operation 281. Amanager managing the machine type communication device 210 or thenetwork apparatus 220 may verify that the residual power of the batteryof the machine type communication device 210 is less than the thresholdusing the manager device 240.

According to an aspect, the manager may replace the battery of themachine type communication device 210 with a new battery, or may chargethe battery. In this case, the residual power of the battery of themachine type communication device 210 may be recovered to be greaterthan or equal to the threshold.

When the residual power of the battery of the machine type communicationdevice 210 is recovered to be greater than or equal to the threshold,the manager device 240 may transmit an event response Event_Response,for example, Battery_Full, in operation 282.

In operation 290, the network apparatus 220 may set a subsequent pointin time when residual power of the battery of the machine typecommunication device 210 is to be monitored. According to an aspect, thenetwork apparatus 220 may predict a time duration in which the machinetype communication device 210 is operable using the residual power ofthe battery of the machine type communication device 210 reported inoperation 272, may set, as a subsequent monitoring time, a predeterminedpoint in time within the predicted time duration, and may store the setpoint in time.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a machine typecommunication device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

In operation 310, the machine type communication device may receive,from a network apparatus, a residual power monitoring request withrespect to a battery of the machine type communication device. Accordingto an aspect, the machine type communication device may implement one ofgas meter reading, water gauge reading, safety inspection of a bridge,monitoring of water quality, measuring of water quantity of the river,and the like.

In operation 320, the machine type communication device may monitor aresidual power of the battery.

In operation 330, the machine type communication device may transmit themonitored residual power of the battery to the network apparatus inresponse to the residual power monitoring request.

According to an aspect, the network apparatus may compare the residualpower of the battery with a predetermined threshold. When the residualpower of the battery is less than the threshold, the battery of themachine type communication device may be replaced with a new battery, ormay be charged.

According to an aspect, when the residual power of the battery is lessthan the threshold, the network apparatus may transmit, to a terminal ofa manager, a notification indicating that the residual power of thebattery is insufficient, for example, low.

According to an aspect, the manager may verify the residual power of thebattery of the machine type communication device via the terminal of themanager, and may replace the battery of the machine type communicationdevice with the new battery or may charge the battery of the machinetype communication device.

In operation 340, the machine type communication device may receiveagain a residual power monitoring request from the network apparatus atthe reset residual power monitoring time.

According to an aspect, the network apparatus may compare the monitoredresidual power of the battery with the threshold, and may set a point intime when the residual power monitoring request is to be retransmittedbased on the comparison result. According to an aspect, when theresidual power of the battery is greater than or equal to the threshold,the network apparatus may predict a time duration in which the machinetype communication device is sufficiently operable using currentresidual power of the battery and then, may set, as a subsequentmonitoring time, a predetermined point in time within the predicted timeduration.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation method of a networkapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation 410, the network apparatus may transmit a residual powermonitoring request to a machine type communication device. According toan aspect, the network apparatus may set a point in time when theresidual power monitoring request is to be transmitted with respect to abattery of the machine type communication device, based on a batterypower of the machine type communication device and a residual power ofthe battery thereof. In this case, the network apparatus may transmitthe residual power monitoring request to the machine type communicationdevice at the set point in time.

In operation 420, the network apparatus may receive a residual power ofthe battery of the machine type communication device from the machinetype communication device in response to the residual power monitoringrequest.

In operation 430, the network apparatus may compare the residual powerof the battery of the machine type communication device with apredetermined threshold. When the residual power of the battery of themachine type communication device is greater than or equal to thethreshold, the network apparatus may set a point in time when theresidual power monitoring request is to be retransmitted with respect tothe battery of the machine type communication device.

Conversely, when the residual power of the battery of the machine typecommunication device is less than the threshold, the network apparatusmay transmit the residual power of the battery to a terminal of amanager managing the machine type communication device or the networkapparatus.

According to an aspect, the network apparatus may transmit, to thedevice of the manager managing the machine type communication device orthe network apparatus, a residual power insufficient notificationindicating that there nearly comes a time duration in which the machinetype communication device is operable with the residual power of thebattery.

The manager may verify the residual power of the battery of the machinetype communication device using the terminal of the manager. Accordingto an aspect, the manager may replace the battery of the machine typecommunication device with the new battery or charge the battery of themachine type communication device.

In operation 450, the network apparatus may verify that the battery ofthe machine type communication device is replaced with the new batteryor that the battery of the machine type communication device is charged.According to an aspect, the network apparatus may receive, from thedevice of the manager, a battery charge verification message or abattery replacement verification message.

In operation 460, the network apparatus may set a point in time when theresidual power of the battery of the machine type communication deviceis to be monitored again. According to an aspect, the network apparatusmay predict a time duration in which the machine type communicationdevice is operable using the monitored residual power of the battery ofthe machine type communication device. Also, the network apparatus mayset, as the subsequent monitoring time, a predetermined point in timewithin the time duration in which the machine type communication deviceis operable. In operation 410, the network apparatus may retransmit aresidual power monitoring request to the machine type communicationdevice at the set subsequent monitoring time. According to an aspect, inresponse to the retransmitted residual power monitoring request, thenetwork apparatus may receive again the residual power of the batteryfrom the machine type communication device in operation 420.

Although a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, the present invention is not limited to thedescribed exemplary embodiments. Instead, it would be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that changes may be made to these exemplaryembodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of theinvention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An operation method of a network apparatuscomprising a machine type communication device in communication system,the method comprising: transmitting a residual power monitoring requestof the battery to the machine type communication device; receiving aresponse message including the residual power of the battery from themachine type communication device; comparing the residual power of thebattery with a threshold value; and performing a first operation or asecond operation based on a result of the comparing; wherein the firstoperation includes transmitting information for residual power of thebattery or notification indication a low residual power of the batteryto a manager device and the second operation includes setting a firstpoint in time for retransmitting the residual power monitoring requestof the battery to the machine type communication device, and wherein thefirst operation is performed when the residual power of the battery isless than the threshold value and the second operation is performed whenthe residual power of the battery is greater than or equal to athreshold value.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operationfurther includes: setting a second point in time for retransmitting theresidual power monitoring request of the battery to the machine typecommunication device when the network apparatus receives from themanager device a response which indicates the battery is recoveredgreater than or equal to the threshold value.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the first point in time and the second point in time are set toshorter than a time duration in which the machine type communicationdevice is operable using the residual power of the battery of themachine type communication device respectively.
 4. The method of claim1, further comprising: retransmitting a residual power monitoringrequest of the battery to the machine type communication device at thefirst point in time.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:retransmitting a residual power monitoring request of the battery to themachine type communication device at the first point in time or thesecond point in time.
 6. An operation method of a machine typecommunication device in communication system, the method comprising:receiving a residual power monitoring request of the battery from anetwork apparatus; monitoring a residual power of the battery inresponse to the residual power monitoring request; and transmitting aresponse message including the residual power of the battery to thenetwork apparatus, wherein the network apparatus compares the residualpower of the battery with a threshold value and performs a firstoperation or a second operation based on a result of the comparing,wherein the first operation includes transmitting information forresidual power of the battery or notification indication a low residualpower of the battery to a manager device and the second operationincludes setting a first point in time for retransmitting the residualpower monitoring request of the battery to the machine typecommunication device, and wherein the first operation is performed whenthe residual power of the battery is less than the threshold value andthe second operation is performed when the residual power of the batteryis greater than or equal to a threshold value.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the first operation further includes: setting a second point intime for retransmitting the residual power monitoring request of thebattery to the machine type communication device when the networkapparatus receives from the manager device a response which indicatesthe battery is recovered greater than or equal to the threshold value.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first point in time and the secondpoint in time are set to shorter than a time duration in which themachine type communication device is operable using the residual powerof the battery of the machine type communication device respectively. 9.The method as in any one of claim 6, further comprising: receiving againa residual power monitoring request of the battery from the networkapparatus at the first point in time.
 10. The method as in any one ofclaim 7, further comprising: receiving again a residual power monitoringrequest of the battery from the network apparatus at the first point intime or the second point in time.